Tim McGraw has an easygoing grace on stage -- a friendly, masculine assurance that draws fans to his concerts like flies to sticky paper.

APTim McGraw

It's no surprise, then, that McGraw and his band, the Dancehall Doctors, came close to selling out the Verizon Wireless Music Center on Tuesday.

Even on a week night, despite high gas prices, ignoring steamy temperatures, more than 9,000 ticketholders showed up in Pelham to hear the country star perform his hits.

At 41, McGraw has released too many successful singles to squeeze into a 90-minute show, so he pulled tracks from his latest disc, 2007's "Let It Go," chose some mid-career tunes and gifted the crowd with a few old favorites.

McGraw also presented a handful of brand-new songs, saying they would be on an album released in the fall. One of these, "Southern Voice," was extremely well-received -- partly because its lyrics name-checked icons dear to Alabama's heart, including Bear Bryant and Hank Williams.

The set list included "Last Dollar (Fly Away)," "When the Stars Go Blue," "Still," "Suspicions," "Kristofferson," "Between the River and Me," "Unbroken," "The Cowboy in Me," "Back When," "You Had to Be There," "Where the Green Grass Grows," "I Like It, I Love It" and "Live Like You Were Dying."

The frontman (whose vocals sounded mighty fine) and his 11-member group produced a big, textured, nicely balanced sound during the 9:10 p.m. show, drawing on instruments that ranged from pedal steel to fiddle, percussion to mandolin.

At times, the Dancehall Doctors swung into a three- or four-guitar attack on the uptempo numbers, blending lead and rhythm lines like veteran Southern rockers.

One of McGraw's visual strengths is his ability to look comfortable with a microphone in hand, gesturing and moving about the stage. That may seem like an minor skill, but too many singers use guitars as concert props or security blankets. McGraw's primary instruments are his voice and personality; nothing else is necessary.

Of course, he's become more a balladeer in recent years, leaving behind his early reputation as a rowdy upstart who'd choose a song like "Indian Outlaw."

Although McGraw included that 1994 career-maker in Tuesday's concert, it seemed like an novelty compared to his mature material, which leans to deeper emotions and weightier themes.

Over the years, country fans have watched McGraw grow into a fame that now fits him as neatly as a snug pair of jeans -- or his trademark black cowboy hat.